The Battle Begins
by DaughterofShinra
Summary: From start to finish, I will take you on the ride of a lifetime for those of you not willing to play the game, but would still like to know the facts of the famous Final Fantasy VII and the adventures of Cloud and Co.
1. Chapter 1

Final Fantasy VII

Disk 1

Chapter 1

*Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. These belong to SquareEnix respectively. This story is based off of the game how I played it. Other players may have different encounters and/or have event triggered sooner or later during the game. Not all "Random Battles" were recorded to save time, money, and paper.*

_An energy manufacturing mega company known as __Shinra Inc.__ is harvesting the sheer life energy of the Planet (known as the __Lifestream__) as a simple fossil fuel. The Lifestream is processed and made into products ranging from electricity and heat to __Mako__ and __Materia__. The latter two materials can work miracles, granting the wisdom of the __Ancients__to the user. However, the Lifestream, like most other fuels, is finite in supply, and the Planet's lifeforce is being malevolently drained by the constant exploitation of Mako by Shinra. Though aware of the harmful effects, they function without remorse._

_However, the real battle lies not with a corporation, but a force much more competent from the distant past. A long-thought dead warrior bent on becoming a god by draining all of the Lifestream from the planet has risen again and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal._

"_Now a small rebel group (known simply as AVALANCHE)emanating from the slums must quell the various dangers toward the innocent, and one mercenary for hire must look amidst the lies and deception and find the man he is within._"

Let the legend commence…

Our journey begins as our hero, an Ex-SOLDIER, disembarks from a train in Sector 8 of the world's most technologically advanced city, Midgar. AVALANCHE members, Barret, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, spew from the train and take out the two Shinra guards at the station. While Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge head for the Mako Reactor, Barret turns around to encourage our hero.

"C'mon newcomer, follow me."

He runs off to join the rest of the rebels and secure the area. The Ex-SOLDIER waits for a moment, contemplating his next move, and then rushes off in the direction Barret ran off to. Once he arrives at the group of AVALANCHE members (Barret apparently absent), Biggs tries his hand at a conversation.

"Wow! You used to be in SOLDIER alright! … Not everyday you find one in a group like AVALANCHE."

Jessie turns to confront Biggs, confused and alarmed, "SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy? What's he doing with us in AVALANCHE?"

Biggs simply rolls his eyes and states the obvious, "Hold it Jessie. He WAS is SOLDIER. He quit them and is now one of us." Turning to our hero, he asks, "Didn't catch your name…"

"…Cloud."

Biggs nods and says, "Cloud, eh? I'm…"

Cloud shook his head and held up a steadfast hand, "I don't care what your names are. Once this job's over…I'm outta here."

Barret rushes up to the group from an alleyway, "The hell you all doin?! I thought I told you to never move in a group! Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it."

The group moves forward through a, now open, gate. As they run off, Barret suddenly stops and turns around to face Cloud.

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh? Don't trust ya!"

He gives Cloud a few pointers on how to run faster, and then sprints after the rest of the team, Cloud in close pursuit. As he runs to the bridge, the members of AVALANCHE take turns running within close proximity of him; while Jessie ran close to Cloud, Wedge would run ahead and Biggs would stand guard and watch out for potential witnesses, and so forth. Occasionally a few MPs, Grunts, or even a few 3rd Class SOLDIERs would pop out and take Cloud by surprise, but they were obviously no match for his superior physical form and intellect. Finally arriving at the bridge, Cloud jogs effortlessly up to Barret, as he had been to beckoning him to come closer.

"Yo! This your first time in a reactor?"

Cloud crosses his arms and adds dully, "No. After all, I did work for Shinra ya'know."

Becoming angry at Cloud's disregard for the seriousness of the situation, Barret replies, "The planet's full of Mako energy. People here use it every day. It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines."

"I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just hurry." Cloud states.

Furious at Cloud, Barret harshly says, "That's it! You're comin' with me from now on."

Cloud simply shrugs in agreement and walks up to Biggs, currently hacking the code on the main entrance to the Reactor.

"Code deciphered," He says as the door slides open. The group moves further into the Reactor, only to be stopped by another door. Jessie begins the routine hacking and before long, "Code deciphered," and the double doors click back effortlessly into the wall, revealing yet another door to be opened across the room. Cloud rummages through some boxes in the back and pulls out a Phoenix Down, a sacred feather that will revive anyone from death if used in battle. He rejoins the group as they open the door and head even further into the immense monstrosity.

The door is actually part of an elevator which is activated by two buttons, when pushed simultaneously; the elevator will descend into the bowels of the structure.

Jessie urges to Cloud, "Push that button over there!"

He follows his given orders and switches the button to the "On" position.

As they descend, Barret speaks up, apparently not quite done with the conversation from earlier.

"Little by little the reactors'll drain out all the life. And that will be that."

"It's not my problem," Cloud shrugs, showing no signs of interest.

Anger yet again by Cloud's lack of concern, Barret yells, "The planet's dyin', Cloud!"

Shaking his head, Cloud replies monotonously, "The only thing I care about is finishin' this job before security and the Roboguards come."

Barret turns away and shakes his fist in anger, turns back to Cloud and glares at him. Finally, the elevator has come to a stop. Jessie, Cloud, and Barret exit the elevator, the others stayed on the floor above to keep watch. They sprint down the extensive stairs and run through the door at the bottom. Meeting up with Jessie, Barret and Cloud begin their descent on some ladders attached to various piping, after a short briefing by Jessie on hold to hold on properly.

Arriving on a catwalk-like structure, Jessie runs to the other side and takes her place as a look out. Steam and poisonous gasses escaped poorly repaired pipes as Barret and Cloud maneuver down a flight of stairs and a ladder, only to end up balanced precariously on a pipe, slick with oil and water. They follow its path for a while and then slide onto another; a ladder within perception, they begin to scurry towards it.

Finally reaching another catwalk, Cloud and Barret head to their right; the reactor's core with arms reach. Mako bubbled and splashed in bright cerulean waves only twenty feet below. They were close enough to feel the Planet's power emitting in a solid beam towards the surface. It was enough to make a grown man sick to his stomach. Fighting past the smell and the overwhelming urge to vomit, Cloud and Barret carried on to the core. A "Restore" materia was stuck in the grating, Cloud picked it up, almost curious as to what the glowing marble was for…almost. Barret reached the core first, and turned to Cloud,

"When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothin' more then a hunka junk. Cloud, you set the bomb."

Suddenly aware that the responsibility was placed on him, a shocked Cloud replied, "Shouldn't you do it?"

"Jus' do it! I gotta watch to make sure you don't pull nothin'."

"Fine, be my guest."

Cloud bent down and secured the bomb to the core, and began setting the timer.

_Watch out!_

_This isn't just a reactor!!_

"…….What's wrong?" Barret asks, noticing that Cloud wasn't setting the timer anymore.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Cloud? Hurry it up!"

"…Yeah, sorry."

He turned the bomb on its side and set the timer. As soon as he did so, an alarm went off. It was loud enough to be heard from the streets above.

Barret frowned, "Heads up, here they come!"

A huge robot in the shape of a red scorpion rushed at them from under the catwalk, catching them off guard. Battling this thing took up a lot of time, but thankfully, they were unharmed. During their battle, Cloud noticed something very obvious on Barret's hand, actually, it wasn't a hand at all, but a machine gun attached to his arm. How on earth did he miss that?

Breaking the stare he had begun, Cloud said hurriedly, hiding his guilt, "Come on, let's get outta here!"

Barret nodded and before they left, Cloud checked the timer. Ten minutes to detonation! It had taken almost twenty to get all the way down here! His eyes widened in terror and he sprinted down the catwalk back to the ladder. Barret, caught off guard by Cloud's sudden decision, took one look at the timer and understood immediately why Cloud was so anxious. Together, they retraced their steps across the pipes and up the ladders. Waves of 3rd Class SOLDIERs and security attacked; depleting the already short time frame they had to get out. Running up another set of stairs, something caught Cloud's eye. Heart beating rapidly, he chose to see what it was, instead of climbing up the ladder to his right. It was Jessie. She was sitting on the searing metal of the catwalk with tears streaming down her face. Obviously tired and emotionally distressed, Cloud ran over to her and knelt down to talk to her.

"You all right?"

"My leg got stuck."

She was trembling in fear and shaking her head from side to side, disoriented by the lack of air and debilitating fear. If Cloud didn't hurry, both of them would blow up or be shot to death by the on slot of advancing troops.

Cloud ripped the fabric of her pants that was holding her to the catwalk and pulled her foot out of the hole. He pulled her to her feet and pushed her along. She was able to mutter a relieved "Thanks!" before she climbed up the ladder. Checking his watch, Cloud gasped in horror. Only six minutes left! He followed Jessie up the ladder and through the door. They dashed the stairs, precious time ticking away. More and more 3rd Class SOLDIERs were beginning to arrive; more and more time was being wasted fighting these pathetic enemies.

Finally, Cloud reached the elevator. Barret stuck close to him as they boarded it. Jessie was already at the upper floor, having snuck past most, if not all, of the responding personnel. Four minutes! For taking at least twenty to get to the bottom, four minutes left was probably pretty good, accounting for of all the enemies they had to fight and how slick the pipes, ladders, and stairs were. Maybe they would make it our alive after all.

Reaching the ground floor of the reactor, Jessie, Biggs, Barret and Cloud all ran like hell out of there. Wedge met up with them just as the reactor blew. They had barely made it out in time; having only seconds to take cover from the blast.

The explosion could bee seen from the other side of the massive city. The tremble it caused could be felt in Slums, under the city itself. Confused citizens of Sector 8 ran amuck in the streets, desperately trying to find their loved ones and possessions. A shock wave of Mako emitted from the top of the blast, and stretched for miles until it finally dispersed in the cool night air. Flaming debris rained down on the populace of Sectors 1,8,7, and 2. The mushroom cloud loomed over the remains of Mako Reactor 1, signifying the beginning of the downfall of the Shinra Empire.

**Meanwhile…**

"That should keep the planet going…at least a little longer." Biggs said, watching Jessie begin setting another, less powerful bomb where the debris had landed; trapping them inside a tunnel.

Wedge merely whispered, "Yeah." His voice cracking at the end. Barret stood in silence.

"OK! Now everyone get back." Jessie smiled.

They ran as far back as they could and took cover. The debris was blasted away by the erupting fireball. Cloud rolled past the flaming debris, followed by Barret, Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge, in that order. Wedge, being the clumsy and chubby oaf he is, began running in circles around the group; his pants on fire. Batting the flames away he returned to the collection of AVALANCHE members.

"All right, now let's get out of here," Barret said with a stern look on his face, "Rendezvous at Sector 8 station! Split up and get on the train!"

The gang dispersed and Cloud, obviously confused and a bit shaken by earlier events, called to Barret, "H, hey!"

"If it's about your money, save it 'til we're back at the hideout."

He runs off to the station, leaving Cloud utterly bewildered. Shaking off the shock, Cloud runs after Barret. He lost sight of him for a moment and lost his way. He slowed down to a casual walk as he neared a mass of panicked people. A young girl is knocked down and left sitting in some mud. She picks herself up, brushed off some of the mud and walks up to Cloud; confused and scared.

"Excuse me," she asks, "What happened?"

Cloud turns to her and replies,"Nothing…hey, Listen…don't see many flowers around here," noticing the basket of flowers resting on her arm.

"Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only a gil…?" she asks hopefully.

Cloud buys one, intrigued by the fact that flowers don't grow in Midgar; the pollution blocks out most of the sun.

"Oh, thank you!" she smile, "Here you are!"

She hands him a magnificent yellow and white tulip and walks away. He tucks the delicate blossom safely into his pocket and runs in the opposite direction and into a beautiful courtyard with a fountain and checkered flooring. Debris covered the ground and electric line hung dangerously from their poles; it must have been a very beautiful place. A sign told him where he was: Loveless Avenue. Realizing where he was, he nodded to himself and kept running. He was almost to the station.

"Hey! You there!!" a Soldier yelled at him. Uh-oh.

"Shinra Soldiers…" Cloud thought as he backed up.

"Over here!" more arrived and formed a semicircle around him, blocking his exits; he was backed up against some railing near the train tracks. He was trapped!

"Hmph!" Cloud pouted.

"That's as far as you go," a Soldier yelled; they were beginning to move in.

"I don't have time to be messin' around with you guys." Cloud called; taunting their leader.

"Enough babbling……..Grab him!!"

Cloud grabbed the fence and hurtled himself onto the top of the train just now emerging from the tunnel. He turned back and gave a cocky salute as the train descended into the tunnel towards the Slums.

Inside the train:

"Cloud never came," Wedge states sadly.

"Cloud……Wonder if he was killed?" Biggs thought aloud.

"No way!!" Barret snaps back.

Jessie shrinks back against the luggage, "Cloud……."

A loud rumbling begins; something landed hard on the top of the train car. Intrigued, the team looks up at the ceiling, but soon loose interest and resumes their gloomy moods.

"Say, do you think Cloud's….." began Biggs, "Going to fight to the end for AVALANCHE!?"

"The hell would I know!? Do I look like a mind reader?" Barret barks, punching the nearest crate, "Hmph!! If y'all weren't such screw-ups…"

"Hey, Barret!" Wedge cuts in, "What about our money…?"

Barret punches the crate again.

"Uh, nothin'…sorry."

Jessie sighs loudly and suddenly, another clang rang out, this time near the doors of the car. Three more knocks echo out and the team look at each other in confusion. The door was suddenly thrown open, and a very dirty Cloud hops in, slips, and barely misses Barret's feet.

"Cloud!!" they announce in surprise, only Jessie sounded worried and Barret remains silent.

"Looks like I'm a little late," he says, turning to face Barret.

"You damn right, you're late!! Come waltzin' in here makin' a big scene!" he shouts.

Cloud replies monotonously, "It's no big deal. Just what I always do."

"Shi't! Havin' everyone worried like that, you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourself!" Barret growls, steaming with anger,

Cloud shrugs, "Hmm……You were worried about me!"

"Wha!?" Barret freaks, "I'm takin' it outta your money, hot stuff!" he walks over to Wedge and shakes him vigorously, "Wake up! We're movin' out! Follow me!" he jumps down to the lower floor.

"Hey, Cloud! You were great back there!" Wedge calls as he jumps after Barret.

Biggs smiles to Cloud and, before he jumps down, says, "heh heh……Cloud! We'll do even better next time."

Jessie sighs and walks over to the open door, "Be careful, I'll shut this." She turns to face Cloud, "Oh, Cloud! Your face is pitch-black…" she lovingly wipes away the soot, blushing slightly, "There you go! Say, thanks for helping me back there at the Reactor!" she smiles and jumps after the rest of the crew.

Cloud follows after taking a moment to look over his equipment. A woman's voice plays over the speaker: Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23AM, Midgar Standard Time. Several other passengers were seated and/or standing around the car, one man was completely disoriented and clung to one of the poles for support. As soon as Barret and co. enter the train car and take their seats, 2 young girls leave and head to the next car. The sick man merely states, "this is why I hate the last train. Hoo-boy" before joining the girls.

Wedge and Jessie head to the scanner and TV to check the news while Barret sits down. Biggs leans up against the wall of the car and Cloud heads down the aisle to view the television with Jessie and wedge. A homeless guy is leaning up against on of the doors. Cloud stops to talk to him.

"Huh…? This is my house, so make yourselves at home."

Cloud tries to start a conversation with Barret, but is interrupted with a stern warning from him. "Stop actin' like a damn kid. Si'down an' shu'up!"

Wedge trembles with excitement when Cloud approaches him. "Someday AVALANCHE's gonna be famous…and me, too!"

"Hey, Cloud," Jessie says, "You want to look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar Rail System. Let's look at it together. I'll explain it to you. I like this kinda stuff. Bombs and monitors…you know, flashy stuff. "

Cloud leaned in closed to look at the monitor.

"Okay, it's about to start." A green, 3D picture of Midgar glowed on screen. "This is a complete model of the city of Midgar. Its about a 1/10000 scale. The top plate is above 50 meters above ground. A main support structure holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section…"

"psst…whisper…whisper…(the No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section.) Then there's No. 2, No. 3 all the way up to the No. 8 Reactor. The 8 Reactors provide Midgar with electricity. Each town used to have a name, but no one in Midgar remembers them. Instead of names, we refer to them by numbered sectors. That's the kind of place this is. Phew…, this is next! Look."

A yellow indicator traced a path through the green, holographic city. "This is the route this train is on," Jessie says, pointing to the screen, "the route spirals around the main support structure. We should be coming around the center area, right now. At each checkpoint, an ID sensor devise is set up. It can check the identities and background on each and every passenger on the train by linking it up to the central data bank at Shinra headquarters."

"whisper…whisper… (Anyone could tell we look suspicious, so we're using fake ID's.)"

Cloud pulls back from the monitor and stretches; the lights turn off and a red flashing light blinks rhythmically.

"Speak of the devil…" Jessie says, obviously annoyed, "that light means that we're in the ID Security Check area."

"…whisper…whisper…(When the lights go off, you never know what kind of creeps'll come out.)…anyhow, we're almost back now. That's a relief."

The lights return to normal, Cloud heads towards Barret.

"Look…" he says as he gazes out the window, "you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there…we could see the sky."

Cloud heads to the window and peers out, "A floating city…Pretty unsettling scenery."

Barret stands up, stretches, and replies, "Huh? Never expect ta hear that outta someone like you….you jes' full of suprises. The upper world…a city on a plate… it's 'cuz of that &^#$# 'pizza that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air. On topa that, the Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy."

"Then why doesn't everyone move onto the Plate?" Cloud asks.

"Dunno. Probably 'cuz they ain't got no money. Or, maybe… Cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."

Cloud turns away, "I know… no one lives in the slums because they want to. Its like this train. It can't run anywhere except where its rails take it."

He looks out the window as they go around the last spiral of the tracks; the train pulling into the station moments later; spilling its inhabitants onto the broken and poorly maintained cement platform.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Just as I have already stated in the disclaimer, this is my playthrough and interpretation of the game.


	2. Chapter 2

*Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. These belong to SquareEnix respectively. This story is based off of the game how I played it. Other players may have different encounters and/or have event triggered sooner or later during the game. Not all "Random Battles" were recorded to save time, money, and paper.*

* * *

"Yo!! Get over here, all'ya!!" Barret hollers. The group gathers around him, expectant and excited. "This mission was a success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion! Cause the next one's gonna be bigger then that! Meet back at the hideout!! Move out!"

They all run down the hill and past a crossroad. Wreckage from various machines and trash litter the ground. They jog into the cluster of buildings and wait outside a bar while Barret runs in and clears it out; firing his gun arm until they were all gone.

"Heh heh…" Barret giggles to Cloud as he blocks his way up the stairs, "You wanna meet your little baby?"

"Little baby?" Cloud asks as he cocks his head to the side.

"Hay! Don' act like you don't know what I mean! I'm tellin' you…Ok! Go on ahead."

Cloud walks inside and is bombarded by a little girl screaming "Papa!". Realizing that Cloud wasn't the person she was expecting, she let go and ran to the corner furthest from him and started crying. A young woman ran to her from behind the counter.

"Marlene!" she said as he stroked the girl's hair, "Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?"

The girl shook her head and the woman stood up and walked over to Cloud. Marlene stood up and hid behind the woman; she didn't want to be left alone.

"Welcome home, Cloud," the woman smiled, "Looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barret?"

"Yeah."

"I should have known. He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little. I was worried."

Cloud pulled the tulip out from his pocket; it was still perfectly preserved; it was still beautiful. He handed it to the woman shyly.

"Flowers? How nice… You almost never see them here in the slums. But, a flower for me? Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have…"

Cloud gave a small smile and blushed, though you couldn't tell with the lighting in the bar. Marlene snatched the flower from the woman and hid behind her. Tifa…the beautiful young woman's name Cloud had a crush on was Tifa.

He started to leave but was thrown back from the door when Barret came crashing through it. Marlene hopped up and down with joy and ran to him.

"Papa, welcome home!"

"Yeah," he replied, picking her up and setting her on his shoulder, "Huh? Where'd you get that flower?"

"Cloud gave it to me."

"Oh… Did you thank him?"

"……….Thank you, Cloud. We'll take care of you."

Cloud sat on the table and turned away, hiding his blush from everyone, and muttered "You're welcome."

"You all right, Barret?" Tifa asked.

"Great!! Get in here, fools!! We're startin' the meetin'!!!"

He walked over to the pinball machine again the wall and hit a switch. The machine, as well as the floor directly in front of it, dropped down into the floor, revealing a hidden room and passageway. The team jumped down into the hole and the pinball machine rose back up. Cloud walked over to the bar to talk to Tifa.

"Sit down," she commanded (he did), "How about something to drink?"

"Give me something hard," he replied, resting his head on his hand.

"Just a minute. I'll make one for you. You know, I'm relieved you made it back safely."

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Cloud said through sips of his drink, "That wasn't even a tough job."

"I guess not…You were in SOLDIER. Make sure you get your pay form Barret."

"Don't worry. Once I get that money, I'm outta here."

He stood up and headed to the pinball machine.

"Cloud," he stopped and looked back at her, "Are you feeling all right?"

"…yeah…Why?"

"No reason. You just look a little tired I guess."

He continued down to the secret room, where everyone was engaged in different activities; Jessie was on the computer, Barret was hitting something, Wedge was sitting at the table eating, and Biggs was tapping out some sort of tune with pencils at the table. Marlene was looking at the flower while sitting on a box next to Barret.

"Yo, Cloud!" Barret called, "There's somethin' I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?"

Cloud shook his head, "None. I'm positive," memory of 1st Class SOLDIERS played back in his mind; they had not fought any of them, that was for sure.

"You sound pretty sure."

"If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here now."

"Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes cuz you was in SOLDIER," Barret replied, so angry at this point that he goes after Cloud, but thankfully, Biggs held him back. Cloud just walked casually to the other side of the room, away from Barret.

"Yeah, you're strong," Barret said through gritted teeth, "Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget that your skinny ass's workin' for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' on to Shinra."

"Stayin' with Shinra?" Cloud snaps, "You asked me a question and I answered it…that's all. I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money."

"Wait, Cloud!" Tifa said, as she came down from the pinball machine, trying to stop him.

"Tifa!" Barret barked, "Let him go! Looks like he still misses the Shinra!"

"Shut up! I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER! But don't get me wrong! I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter!" he barged his way past the shocked members and hit the switch on the pinball machine. He really didn't care, and he really wanted his money…now. He started to leave when Tifa ran up and grabbed his arm.

"Listen, Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us."

He shook his head, "Sorry Tifa…"

"The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying. Someone has to do something."

He turned around to face her and shrugged, "So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothin' to do with me." He turned around and began to open the door.

"So! You're really leaving!? You're just going to walk right out ignoring your childhood friend!?"

"What….?....Sorry."

"……You forget the promise, too."

"Promise?"

"So you DID forget. Remember…Cloud," she took his hand, "It was seven years ago…"

He leaned his head back and thought:

_They were younger, and at home, in Nibelheim. It was night and the cosmos glowed with radiant beauty._

"_Look, the well," Tifa said, "Do you remember?"_

"_Yeah," he said, "Back then… I thought you would never come, and I was getting a little cold."_

_When they were young, and Cloud was getting ready to leave for SOLDIER, he sat, waiting, on the well for Tifa to tell her he was leaving. It was on a night identical to this one._

"_Sorry I'm late," she said, climbing up the wooden structure. She sat down next to him and said, "You said you wanted to talk to me about something?" _

"_Come this spring…I'm leaving this town for Midgar."_

"…_All boys are leaving our town," she replied, swinging her feet sadly._

"_But I'm different from all of them. I'm not just going to find a job," Cloud announced, standing up, "I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!"_

"_Sephiroth…" Tifa echoed, "The Great Sephiroth."_

_Cloud climbed up to the top of the well._

"_Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?" Tifa asked, crossing her arms._

_Cloud nodded, "…I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while…huh?"_

"_Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?"_

_Cloud smiles and nods, "I'll try."_

"_Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind…You came save me, all right?"_

"_What?"_

"_Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."_

"_What?" _

"_Come on--! Promise me----!"_

"_All right……I promise."_

"You remember now, don't you…our promise?"

Cloud shook his head, "I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep…..the promise."

"But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER."

Cloud looked down.

"So come on! You've got to keep your promise……"

Barret climbed out of the hole left by the pinball machine, "Wait a sec big-time SOLDIER! A promise is a promise! Here!!" He threw Cloud's money at him, which, of course, was several feet too short. Cloud went over and picked it up, a total of 1500 gil!

"This is my pay? Don't make me laugh," Cloud said, flipping through the bills.

"What? Then you'll…!!" Tifa exclaimed hopefully.

Cloud smiled slyly and turned to Barret, "You got the next mission lined up? I'll do it for 3000."

"What….!?"Barrett yelled.

"It's ok, it's ok," Tifa assured him, "psst, psst….(We're really hurting for help, right?)"

"Uh….ugh……(That money's for Marlene's schoolin'…..)….2000!"

"Thanks, Cloud," Tifa said.

The Next Day…

Cloud awoke, stretched, and headed to the pinball machine and went up to the bar. Barret and Tifa were standing around, and Marlene was cleaning dishes at the counter.

"Our target's the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station first," Barret said, blocking the door, "I'll fill you in on the train. Yo! Cloud! Before the next mission, I got somethin' I wanna ask you! I, uh…..I don't really know how to use Materia!" (Oh, hey! Cloud still had that "Restore" Materia in his pocket! That could come in handy!) "I'll let you have that Materia you found. Just teach me how to use it!"

"…sigh…Ok, I'll explain it."

**Sure, I'll explain how Materia works. Refer to your equipment stats and open your Materia sub menu. This will allow you to view all the Materia that you have, both equipped and in stock. Now look at your weapon or armor. See how it has different slots? Those are for Materia. Now all you have to is select the Materia that you want to equip to your weapon or armor and put it in the slot. This will give you the ability to use the power of the Ancients, or magic, if you will. You can only equip as many Materia to a weapon or armor as there are slots. Different color Materia gives you different powers. Blue Materia is support; it allows you to give extra support to your party when time is short. Slots that are connected by grooves or chains are linked together. These are ideal slots for a Blue Materia. Green Materia is magic; these grant you different powers such as ice, fire, earth, lightening (also known as Bolt), and many more. Red Materia is summon; you can summon the gods based on the power within. For example, Materia labeled with a specific name will bring that god, goddess, or guardian out. Shiva, Goddess of Ice, and Ifrit, God of Fire, are very popular. Yellow Materia is for compounds. These don't allow you to have magic powers, but will grant you others such as Sense, the power to see how much HP (Hit Points) an enemy has left before it can be defeated. Purple Materia is independent; it only affects you, even if it is used with a Blue Materia (such as an "All"; it effects all party members or enemies). It is not wise to overuse any Materia. Ok, that's about it. I'll give you some advanced tips later.**

"Shi….! What's this 'It wasn't that tough!' crap!" Barret says, "I'm clueless…. Well, you handle the Materia then!"

"I'm going this time," Tifa announces, "Cloud!! I got a message from the Weapon Shop man upstairs. He has something he wants to give you. Don't forget! Marlene, you watch the store while we're gone!"

"All right!! Good Luck."

Cloud and co. exited the bar and headed down to the Tutorial Building. After a brief explanation about boxes, chests, and bags, Cloud received an "All" Materia. He equipped it to his Broadsword and removed his "Fire" Materia and gave it to Tifa, who in turn, equipped it to her gloves. Cloud had to give a short tutorial to some kids on how to use their limit breaks (the attack you use after you have been hit a certain amount of times). Once they were done there, they headed to the Weapon Shop. Cloud bought a few things for Barret and a Bangle for Tifa, as well as a few Grenades, just in case. He sold the 3 Bronze Bangles the party had and left the store. They went to the station and boarded the train with the rest of AVALANCHE.

"YO!" Barret cheered, excited for the upcoming mission, "Looks like this ain't no private car!! So split up!!"

(Same guy from before was on the train, last time, he complained about taking the last one)"…hoodlums again. God, don't I just have all the luck…." He went and sat down as Barret approached him.

"You say sumthin'?"

Silence.

"I said, 'you say sumthin'!? Yo, look at that!! It got empty alluva sudden. What's going on?"

"DAMN!! I… it's empty because of…g, guys like you…"

Barret punched the seat next to the guy and left an imprint in the wood under it.

"Y, Y, YIPES!! You…you've seen the news, right? AVALANCHE says there'll be more bombings. Only devoted employees like me would go to Midgar on a day like today."

Barret jumped back and aimed his gun at the guy, "You workin' for Shinra?"

"I won't give in to violence…and I'm not giving you my seat either!"

"&$#%!! You lucky ^$#^$.!" Barret said as he walked back to Cloud.

Cloud looked up and said, "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Shit! The hell you so calm about? You bustin' up my rhythm…"

The car shook and Tifa said, "Seems like they just finished connecting the cars. We're finally leaving." The train lurched into motion.

"So what's our next target?" Cloud asked.

"Hah!" laughed Barret, "Listen to Mr. Serious-about-his-work! Awright…I'll tell ya! Jessie's probably already told you, but there's a security check point at the top plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains."

"Which Shinra is very proud of," Tifa added.

Barrett nodded, "We can't use our fake ID's anymore…"

A woman's voice plays over the speaker. "Good morning, and welcome to Midgar lines. Arrival time at Sector 4 Station will be at 11:45.

"That means we've got only three more minutes to the ID Check point," Tifa says.

"Alright, in three minutes, we're jumpin' off this train," Barret explains, "Got it?" He sits down and Tifa heads to the map.

"Cloud, come over here! Let's look at the Railway Map Monitor," she says; Cloud walks over, "Hmm, it looks like you've seen this already… It's all right. Come a little closer."

Just as they turned on the monitor, the lights dimmed and the red light started flashing again, accompanied by the alarm, of course.

"That's odd," Tifa said, worried, "the ID Check Point was supposed to be further down."

"TYPE A SECURITY ALERT!!" the voice said, "Unidentified passengers confirmed…A search of all cars will be conducted! Repeat! Type A Security Alert!! Unidentified passengers confirmed…A search of all cars will be conducted!"

"What's happening?" Tifa shouted over the alarm.

"What's goin'on!!" Barret echoed, in the other two.

"We're in trouble," Jessie said, coming in from the other car, "I'll explain later. Hurry! Get to the next car!"

^%#%! Someone blew it... Barret said, jogging after her.

"Unidentified passengers located in Car #1. Preparing for Lock Down," the voice announced.

"Let's go! Keep it up!" shouted Barret.

They ran through the car to Car #2, only to hear, "Car #1: Locked Down. Upgrading to Level 2 Warning."

"Hurry!" Biggs urged.

"They're gonna lock the door, sir!" Wedge called.

"Unidentified passengers located in Car #2. Preparing for Lock Down."

"Just run!" Jessie yelled, "Changing to Plan 2!"

they ran through the car, knocking other passengers our of their way and barely making it to Car #3.

"Car #2: Locked Down. Upgrading to Warning Level 3."

The alarm turned off and the light returned to normal.

The team took a breather and Cloud panted heavily; heart still beating rapidly. That was a close call.

"Awright!" Barret said between gasps, "We clear!?"

"Not yet. They're starting another check. If were caught, we're done for!" Jessie exclaimed, "But, don't worry. If we move up the train, car by car, we should get past it!" she runs down the car, takes out a security guard, and moves to the next car.

"Unidentified Passengers: Moving to front of Train, currently tracking location." The alarm went off again and the lights turned off, only to be replaced by a spinning red light. Not again!

They ran through the car and into the next one, and again, "Car #3: Locked Down. Upgrading to Warning Level 4." They raced through Car #4 and jumped into the last one. "Car #4: Locked Down. Upgrading to maximum security alert!!"

"All right!! We made it!" Barret rejoiced, "Yo!! This way!!"

He runs to the end of the car and opens a door, "Let's go!! We're gonna dive outta here!!"

A guard stops Cloud before he could get to the door, "It's me, Jessie. How do I look, Cloud? Do I look good in a Shinra uniform?"

"…you look great, just like a man," he teased.

"Yay!! I'm so happy…I think?" she replied, not quite sure if what Cloud said was a complement or an insult.

"…Scary…huh," Tifa whispered to Cloud.

"Too late to be saying that now. Why'd you come along anyway?"

"Because…"

"Hey you two!" Barret yelled, "There ain't no time for that!"

"Yeah!! I've made up my mind!" Tifa announces, "Watch closely. I'm gonna jump!!"

Barret urged Cloud to go ahead of him, "You don't care if I go first?"

"A leader always stays till the end," Barret replied, "Don't worry 'bout me, just go!"

Cloud started to jump, but paused to hear Barret say, "Yo! Don't go getting' your spikey-ass hurt! Its only the beginning of the mission!" Cloud shrugged and jumped after Tifa.

"Later! You take care of the rest!" Barret called to his disguised cohorts as he jumped off the train.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry for the confusing dialogue, but Barret is having some problems...translation fail! (ps. I'm actually typing all the text I see...very time consuming indeed)


End file.
